Submarine lifeboat



.2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 28, 1938z K. ToRJussEN SUBMARINE LIFEBQAT Filed lax-ch 8, 195'! June 28, 1938. K, TORJUSSE y J 2,121,894

SUBMARINE LIFEBOAT Filed March 8, y1.93"? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 u O y /o @o /2 as a5 ;2

u l s 0 ff i 0 O F/yz.

Patented June 2.8,/ 1938 i 2,121,894 sUMAmNE. LIFEBoA'r Kany Torjussen, BnooklymN- Y# n 'y Application'MarchSL1937,.SeriallN0. 12955737- My inventionA relates toy lifeboats forv submarines and' meansifor Yreleasing*v same frorn'the submarineV in submergedY condition as well as means for propelling andi guiding said lifeboats.

An important object 'of lthis` invention. isV to provide al construction. .of lifeboatswhich may be`builtinto thefdeck. ory hull of` a submarine and'lnormally carriedza'sfa'n integralpart of this hull; f D

further object. isY tofprovidemeans whereby one-mayienter said` lifeboats from the interior4 of the submarina-- and vmeans for closing y'said entrance.

Another object gis l'tol Y provide various means for holding V'said lifeboats tothe submarine, and

pneumatic or hydraulically operated release means, and similarly operated jacks for pushing oil' from the submarine.

A further object of the invention isto provide means for steering and propellingsaid lifeboats to the surface. of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming vpart of Athis specification, andvin which Ylike numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figurer 1 is a partial section and elevation taken longitudinally through the lifeboat. Y,

Figure 2 is a partial transverse section and end elevation along line 2 2 inFig. l.

Figure 3 is a broken away section taken longitudinally through the manhole connecting the submarine with the lifeboat. Y Y

In the drawings, wherein Yfor the purpose of 'illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral I0 designates the Voutside hull of the lifeboat resting in a recess II At'one l in the deck orrhull I2 of a submarine. endof the lifeboat hull I0 there is a propeller The propeller I3is conrudder I4 is rotatable in two directions by being ing the sleeve lIii whereby the rudderk I4may be brought into a horizontal position. A second sleeve I9 is concentric on the propellerrshaft I1 vbetween same and sleeve I6 and carries at one end the bevel gears 2Q and 2l Gear 2I is mounted on pin 22 rotatably mounted in bracketlS. The sleeve I6 isv driven by wheel I8 through the helmsman.

Other objects and advantages;v

Iii-'through thechain 25'and` sprockets 26 and 21.' l Aplumb 28 indicates the verticalVV position of the lifeboat while the instrument board' 29 carries'thenecessary gaugesY for water, ai'r and fuelv` 1U NITD STATES- PAT Em a oFFlC f* pressures,l etc., andl a seat 39 is providedl for the f Ateach end of the-lifeboat theregis a tank'. containingcompressed air, this tank is desig-" natedv` by numeral 3I. A valve 32 and pip'ef33rg connects to the various pneumaticaflly driven n means. A fuel' tank 34 is provided for carrying' combustible fuel.' 1 Y n' Y In 4Figuresl 1 and 2are shown the release andi `holding means consisting of hooks 35 mounted rotatably on shafts 36 in a watertighthousing 31. The .hooks 35 normally fit into a recess 38 in the hull I2A of the submarine, but these hooks may be released by turning shaft 3B with lever 39 thus bringing the hooked part 35 into the watertight housing or recess 3l out of engagement with the recess38. Packing boxes 40 on shaft :t6-prevent water from enteringthe, lifev boat. A locking vmechanism 4I is provided for latching the lever 39 in its normallyclosed posi-V tion while a flexible steel rope 42 over pulleys releasing the lever V39 and hook 35 if stuck.

.'43 connect to pneumatically driven means for Y 'A plurality of vertically mounted cylinders v44 'contain pistons 45 and piston rods 46 and-41.

53 when the piston is in its bottom position. A

similar cylinder 54 with piston and piston rod 55 is provided for pulling ropes 42 to release the hooks 35. Y

A manhole -56 is provided for leaving the life-Y boat when in surface position.. while another manhole connecting the lifeboat with the subhole is shown in a closed position with the lifeboat removed a slight distance from the submarine. The cover 5'! held by a plurality of marine is shown insection in Fig. 3. This man- Y bolts 58, 59and watertight by means of pack- Y ing 6D closes the lifeboat, while the cover 6I in a similar manner closes the submarine. The cover 6I is placed in a recess 62 in the hull I2 of the submarine, this recess is suiciently large sothat both'covers maybe put on from one side.

Means are provided for flooding the vrecess 62 after the covers have been closed thus removing the static pressure due tothe outside water. T-slot bolts 65 tting in slots 66 serve to keep the recess 62 tightly closed in normal position.

The operation of my invention is as follows: In actual practice I prefer to provide one or more lifeboats at each end of a submarine. This is due to the consideration that if a submarine is damaged at one end and sunk the crew may escape through the other end. These lifeboats are placed in recesses in the hull or deck of the submarine and normally held in position by strong hooks locked in position by latch 4 I. Uponentering the lifeboat the crew will first close the manhole of the submarine in recess 62 with cover 6|. Y Next the cover 51 is put on, closing up the lifeboat, whereupon the recess 62 is flooded by letting in the seawater through a valve. The

static pressure on the manhole is thus removedV and the bolts S5 are loosened and removed from slots 65. At this point the latches 4l may be removed and the hooks released by the upward motion'of lever 39. If necessary this lever 39 `may be pulled by rope 42 strung over pulley 4S and connected to the piston rod 55. This device 54 may be driven either by air pressure from one of the air tanks or by using the static pressure of the surrounding water. In the latter case the device 54 will operate as a hydraulic jack. After having disengaged the several hooks 35 the life boat is free from Vthe submarine, however, it may be stuck to same due to forces of various kind. To overcome these forces there are provided a plurality of vertical cylinders 44 with pistons 45 and Apiston rods 46 and 41. These may also be operated either by air pressure or by hydraulic pressure as described supra, and by thus forcing the rod 41 down against the submarine the lifeboat is pushed oif from same. 'Ihe rod 41 is loose and will fall off as soon as the rod 46 has penetrated the packing box 5| and will thus create no objectionable projections. The helmsman sitting in seat 30 can now by means of wheels I5 and i8 steer the lifeboat both up and down and 'sidewise as described supra.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown and described,'is to be taken as a preferred example Vof the same, and that various changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In a submarine boat including a hull formed to provide a recess adjacent the stern, a propeller and shaft therefor adapted to be positioned in said recess,V a sleeve rotatably mounted on and concentric with said propeller shaft, Va rudder embracing said propeller, pivotally mounted on said sleeve in the plane of `said propeller 'shaft for rotation about said propeller shaft as an axis, a second sleeve concentric with said rst sleeve, gear means interconnecting said rudder and said second sleeve whereby said rudder may be pivoted on said pivotal mounting, hand wheels located in said boat and operably connected to each of said sleeves. i Y

Y KARL TORJUSSEN. 

